Dallas' 50 Most Interesting Restaurants, No. 33: Spoon

Leading up to our annual Best of Dallas® issue, we're counting down the 50 most interesting restaurants in Dallas. These spots bring something unique or compelling to the city's dining scene, feeding both your appetite and soul. Find more interesting places on our all-new Best Of app for iTunes or Android.

Spoon is anchored by chef John Tesar, one of Dallas' most interesting chefs. After a stint at The Mansion that ended abruptly but included a five-star review, Tesar bounced around a few of Dallas' more casual kitchens, took consulting gigs and somehow earned the reputation as Dallas' most hated chef.

But one dinner at Spoon will leave you with nothing but the desire to give the the guy a hug. There are few other places in Dallas where such an array of high-quality ingredients are treated with such care and respect, and Tesar's cooking is good enough to change your whole day.

Try some of the best oysters in Dallas, simply shucked and served on ice, or with tomato water consommé, tomato sorbet and salty trout roe. The two dishes feature the same central ingredient, but they couldn't be more different, and that's why Spoon is such a delight. Other than the clean, oceanic brine of impeccably fresh fish and crustaceans, you never know what you're going to get.

Ate there with my daughter and her boyfriend who until moving recently were chefs at a super upscale restaurant in manhattan. The food was amazing even in the opinion of my daughter and her bf. It is Manhattan scale fine dining. If you can afford it, I highly recommend it. We even had a quick little meet and greet with the chef.

ate there in the first month it opened. It was 4 of us and one of my friends ordered the surf and turf. When it came out all 4 of us agreed that the fish smelled really fishy like it was not fresh and the beef was overcooked. When we told the maitre De that we had an issue with the dish the Sous Chef (I think) came out and told us that Chef Tesar flies his seafood in fresh everyday and walked away...so basically we were told we were wrong and deal with it. WE will NEVER go back again and advise the same of everyone else. Tesars portrayal on Top Chef was an accurate one....